Where do you see yourself in five years? That’s easy. You envision yourself with a successful marketing career, making moves and setting strategies.

但是你将如何到达那里？这个问题有点难以回答。你没有水晶球来告诉你如何进入营销。你有信心你可以利用你对梦想的营销事业的兴趣 - 你只需要知道如何开始。

学习如何进入市场营销是在你reach right now! We spoke with marketing professionals who are giving us the behind-the-scenes scoop on how they launched their marketing careers. Read their advice, then follow in their footsteps to embark on your own marketing journey.

Professional advice for getting started in marketing

As with any career, you’ll find there’s not really a one-size-fits-all approach to getting established in a marketing career. That being said, there are several pieces of advice you can mold to your situation to great effect. You’ll definitely want to consider the following.

Start broad, then specialize

The marketing world includesmany different specialties，从内容营销和销售到研究和分析。萌芽营销人员面临着选择专业或成为所有交易的决定。无论您是专门化还是成为一般主义者，我们的消息人士都认为您的兴趣之后会导致您在正确的方向。

“你应该始终将你的职业集中在你喜欢的东西和你喜欢做的事情上，”营销总监Mark Miller说：“Mark Miller说Jordan Law。“Make sure you’re aware of how to do the basics of all other areas in the marketing field, but find that joy and that focus and become the go-to expert in that field.”

如果您是新的营销，并且不确定您最享受哪个区域，从广泛的重点开始就可以帮助您缩小它。“我专注于成为一个杰出的交易，让您尝试营销的不同方面，”营销总监Eric Hoppe说Crowd Content Media Inc。“在大多数情况下，我认为你会发现你最喜欢的一个方面，你可以在那方面引导你的职业生涯。”

Sharpen your skills

Just as your interests can guide your marketing career, your natural skills and talents can help you take your first step into the business world. You might be surprised to learn how the soft skills you already have can set you up for a successful marketing career!

Strong communication ranked high on our marketers’ lists of essential soft skills. “Being able to write well is the most important skill a marketer can have because, in the end, our job is all about communication,” Miller says.

据Shakun Bansal的营销主管称，掌握了强烈的写作技巧，重要的是成为一个好的故事讲述者并与客户同情。Mettl。“As a marketer, you should be in sync with the customer pulse and weave a story around their needs, anticipate their demands and offer intelligent solutions to their challenges.”

What else are employers looking for in their candidates for marketing jobs? We consulted real-time job analysis software to determine the top soft and technical marketing skills employers are seeking.

最重要的营销人员技能：¹

• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Attention to detail
• Organization
• Planning
• Writing
• 研究

Top technical skills for marketers:¹

• Social media
• Product management
• Project management
• Budgeting
• Digital marketing
• Market strategy
• Product development
• Sales

Gain experience wherever you can

Getting real-world experience in the marketing industry can help you hone these skills and build a portfolio of work samples to show prospective employers. Marketing internships and related volunteer or part-time positions are good options for dipping your toes into real-life marketing. During his time as a summer research associate, Bansal says he learned “intangible skills like management, effective communication and leadership”—abilities that improved his overall employability.

Creating your own marketing projects is also an option for showing off your budding skills to potential employers. “I’ve known many students who started blogs, affiliate marketing campaigns, etc. and then built out marketing plans and promoted them,” Hoppe says. “There isn’t a huge investment cost to doing this, and you can get some practical experience that employers will value.”

即使您没有降落营销实习或遇到困难寻找项目，也有大量的其他生活经验，可以为您提供营销生涯。米勒利用他作为服务员和酒保的时间来建立他的营销技巧。“那就允许我学习如何舒服地与陌生人谈谈，卖东西我永远不会使用自己，并将负面情况旋转成一个积极的情况，”米勒说。

Build your network

You’ve probably heard the saying that谁you know can be just as important aswhatyou know when you’re on the hunt for a new job. Building a strong network of other business and marketing professionals can give you a leg up in the job search. “Networking is how you get a job,” says Marilyn Heywood Paige, vice president of marketing atInciting Marketing。

“Start thinking of yourself as a marketing professional right now,” she adds. “Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to the director of the marketing department or agency you want to work for.”

Paige建议通过LinkedIn取得联系，要求营销专业人士进行信息面试，然后抵达相关问题和工作样本。在会议结束后别忘了保持联系。“为了获得营销工作，您必须表明您可以展示自己。这是一种表明这一点的强大方法。“

Earn a degree

Acting on all of this advice will certainly help, but you’re not likely to get far without first earning aMarketing degree。Attending college is the natural first step to launching a marketing career, from gaining skills and experience to meeting professionals in the business world.

Having a marketing degree under your belt is also what most employers demand. Our analysis of marketing job postings found that 94% of employers are seeking candidates with a bachelor’s degree or higher.²

无论您选择遵循哪些营销职业道路，无论是相关的学位都可以是您未来的基础。“教育为您铺平了一条路，并灌输了必要的态度和技能，以有效地成功地处理了职业生命，”Bansal说。

Where will your marketing career take you?

Now that you’ve heard expert advice on how to get into marketing, you’re ready to take the first step toward launching your career. Find out more about where your marketing career can take you with our article “10 Common Entry-Level Marketing Jobs for Recent Grads。”

¹Burning-glass.com（分析443,924次营销职位发布，2018年4月01日 - 2019年4月30日）。
²Burning-Glass.com（分析教育水平260,290营销职位发布，2018年5月01日 - 2019年4月30日）。